Action on Black Carbon in the Arctic

Action on Black Carbon in the Arctic is a European Union Initiative to support international policy development. Black carbon or soot is produced by incomplete burning of wood and fossil fuels. When these dark particles land on snow or ice they absorb heat from the sun, increasing rates of melting. Black carbon contributes significantly to overall warming in the Arctic.

The Action will contribute to the development of collective responses to reduce black carbon emissions in the Arctic by:

Enhancing international cooperation on black carbon policy in the Arctic region – with a special focus on supporting the work of the Arctic Council and Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution and other national, regional and international initiatives, and building strong collaboration with EU strategic partners.

The first EU-BC Action Technical Workshop will serve as a kick-off meeting restating the objectives and goals of the project, going through all key deliverables (especially within the first 1.5 years of the project), and discuss the connection/harmonization between the work packages and different (internal and external) groups and ways of efficient communication. The main focus will be on work to be conducted in 2018 under work-package 1, addressing BC inventory and reporting systems, monitoring and observation systems, and emission scenario development. Plans for the initial assessment of knowledge gaps and ways to fill gaps will be discussed. Finally, the involvement with and outreach to other applicable national and international groups and science- and policy-related activities will also be covered.